[GTiD4]

Brought ID4 in for a leaking tire and I was told that the tire was has a puncture and there is some kind of foam inside that would have to be removed in order to fix the tire. The dealers tech recently came from training and said that EV tires cannot be plugged and need to be replaced. I generally trust this shop, but the advice seems a little odd. Anyone have an informed opinion whether this is accurate?

Tire is available locally so that's nice i guess.

 

[JimmyVW]

You can usually repair them just fine (as long as it is not the sidewall), they need to scrape away the goo, fix as usual and then move the goo back over the repaired patch.

 

[Nai3t]

Just plug it from the outside and drive on. It's the first I'm hearing of slime preventively being added to a new tire, but it shouldn't impact installation of a plug. Plug it, see if it holds air, and drive on. If the slime somehow prevents the plug from bonding properly with the rubber, I think you'll know pretty quickly. A failed plug will allow it to lose air, but won't cause the tread to disintegrate or fail spectacularly.

 

[Jachnoon]

Well there are tires that have pre-installed goo and others that have foam. These are two different things, but both of them tend to put off tire shops. The goo is for "self healing" small punctures. If a nail pierces the tread, you are supposed to pull it out, and the goo will seal the puncture. It sometimes requires removing the tire from the rim and pushing the goo over the puncture. The foam is for noise suppression. I have heard from one tire shop that they don't fix tires with foam. I heard of others that remove the foam around the puncture and then use a standard patch.
Just try another tire shop and see if they are wiling to do the repair. Also using an external plug as @Nai3t suggested may be good enough.

 

[GTiD4]

I just watched the EV tire explainer on another post from this morning! Good timing. I now understand that the service tech was referring to the noise suppression foam, they apparently don't want to mess with it when it comes to patching or don't want to deal with noise complaints after repair (speculation)? Will definitely seek another opinion. I saw $338 as the quote for a new tire installed.

 

[fiehlsport]

Wow... $308 and $339 for F&R on the Hankooks, without install. That's more expensive than the 20" Alenzas. Crazy. The Alenzas aren't really an EV-specific tire though, so I suppose that's why.

Down the road, a 19" Hankook ID.4 could be downgraded to the 19" Alenzas to save some cash. $195/$232 for those on Tire Rack right now.

The Tesla-way of repairing EV tires is to cut out the foam, patch the damage (plug or internal-patch), then glue that piece of foam back in over the patch.

 

[Nai3t]

When a shop-quality tire plug is installed professionally and properly, the plug has a backing that adheres to the inside of the casing, over the hole and over the actual plug, making this repair "permanent."

To adhere this patch, a clean rubber surface is required. I have no idea what this foam looks like and what is required to cut it away and clean the surface, or if it complicates rebalancing.

The hardware store plug I am referring to is much simpler, and works more like a clogged drain. Open the hole with the included abrasion tool, apply rubber cement to a strip of gooey patch material, and plunge it into the hole with the included insertion tool.

This method takes 5 minutes and the tire doesn't need to be dismounted. Although considered temporary, many many many of us drive tens of thousands of miles with these as a permanent repair until the end of tread life.

 

[fiehlsport]

The shop-quality plugs adhere to the inner rubber with rubber cement - you can foam over them and the glue should adhere the same as it does to the tire rubber. But I'm all for plugs too... everyone says they are temporary or worse but I've been doing them for over 10 years and have never heard of/seen a failure either. (As long as the tire is repaired in the allowed area)

 

[gcrone-wayback]

I had a screw in my back driver's side tire, on the tread, and was told by the dealership that they are not repairable and have to be replaced. He didn't know exactly why, but said the system indicates that those tires have to be replaced when punctured, and cannot be fixed. Thankfully it was only ~$250 for the new tire.

 

[fiehlsport]

I had a screw in my back driver's side tire, on the tread, and was told by the dealership that they are not repairable and have to be replaced. He didn't know exactly why, but said the system indicates that those tires have to be replaced when punctured, and cannot be fixed. Thankfully it was only ~$250 for the new tire.

No idea… now I know why there is a market for lightly used plugged tires on eBay! Not sure what would be unique to that Hankook tire that would prevent it from being professionally repaired with a DOT approved patch.

 

[Don]

I had a screw in my back driver's side tire, on the tread, and was told by the dealership that they are not repairable and have to be replaced. He didn't know exactly why, . . . .

He knew exactly why - The dealer principal said "Don't mess with those tires - Sell 'em a new one!"

Don

 

[gcrone-wayback]

He knew exactly why - The dealer principal said "Don't mess with those tires - Sell 'em a new one!"

Don

Your probably correct, but since it is the only place that I know of where I can get the OEM Bridgestone tire, I had to agree to the service.

 

[mnbsmith]

You can usually repair them just fine (as long as it is not the sidewall), they need to scrape away the goo, fix as usual and then move the goo back over the repaired patch.

The dealer patched mine for less than $30 six weeks ago and have driven over 1000 miles since then with no problem.

 

[GrayEagle61]

Brought ID4 in for a leaking tire and I was told that the tire was has a puncture and there is some kind of foam inside that would have to be removed in order to fix the tire. The dealers tech recently came from training and said that EV tires cannot be plugged and need to be replaced. I generally trust this shop, but the advice seems a little odd. Anyone have an informed opinion whether this is accurate?

Tire is available locally so that's nice i guess.

Same here. I got a screw in the center of the RR tire, (Bridgestone Alenza Sport) tech guy told the service writer EV tires are not repairable. We didn't go into details as to why - I really needed to get going with trouble free tires. Without a spare I'm not taking any chances. Dealer charged me $220.58 for one 255/50R19. I will say this, the next time I need to buy a set of tires for my ID.4 I will be sure to get the Road Hazard Insurance as well. I believe The Tire Rack offer this on all new sets.

 

[GTiD4]

Same here. I got a screw in the center of the RR tire, (Bridgestone Alenza Sport) tech guy told the service writer EV tires are not repairable. We didn't go into details as to why - I really needed to get going with trouble free tires. Without a spare I'm not taking any chances. Dealer charged me $220.58 for one 255/50R19. I will say this, the next time I need to buy a set of tires for my ID.4 I will be sure to get the Road Hazard Insurance as well. I believe The Tire Rack offer this on all new sets.

At least you have the cheaper Bridgestones! With the Hankooks I was charged $360 (with road hazard coverage). Supposedly the information they are getting from Hankook and VW is that the tires cannot be patched/plugged and must be replaced. He even brought the issue up with some regional service manager and was told they are not allowed to repair the EV tires. I can't blame him, who wants to be the guy to tell customers the bad news.

I now have 1 tire that is covered by Road Hazard, may that be the tire that gathers all the nails.

 

[fiehlsport]

It's really a shame, and it's purely a liability thing. Most of the contact patch is able to be repaired on a tire, even runflats and EV tires, but the manufacturers prohibit it. I get it, but I've also never seen a properly plugged tire fail. shrug

I just did a BMW RFT the other day. Internal plug/patch repair with the tire off. Dealer wanted to charge the guy $400 for a new Pirelli. Came out great, no leaks, and the tire is built like a tank - that patch is not going to fail. But I did it cash, off the books. I asked for $17.50, he gave me $40 because it was such a relief.

Chances are, anyone that gets denied a plug at the dealer could probably go around town and find a guy like me that would be willing to do it with a proper plug/patch without too much trouble.

 

[JPWhite]

Brought ID4 in for a leaking tire and I was told that the tire was has a puncture and there is some kind of foam inside that would have to be removed in order to fix the tire. The dealers tech recently came from training and said that EV tires cannot be plugged and need to be replaced. I generally trust this shop, but the advice seems a little odd. Anyone have an informed opinion whether this is accurate?

Tire is available locally so that's nice i guess.

I had multiple punctures repaired on my Tesla Model 3 which came with foam in the tires. The tech needs to cut a 2" square portion of foam out, clean the tire of adhesive and patch as usual. The foam isn't a reason not to patch. The position of the puncture maybe.

 

[JPWhite]

I will say this, the next time I need to buy a set of tires for my ID.4 I will be sure to get the Road Hazard Insurance as well. I believe The Tire Rack offer this on all new sets.

Visit a Discount Tire and they will sell you road hazard warranty on the tires you have now.

 

[fiehlsport]

I had multiple punctures repaired on my Tesla Model 3 which came with foam in the tires. The tech needs to cut a 2" square portion of foam out, clean the tire of adhesive and patch as usual. The foam isn't a reason not to patch. The position of the puncture maybe.

Yup, I don't believe Tesla has said anything about their Michelin T0 or T1 tires not being repairable. Plenty of Model 3 owners get patches at Discount Tire with no ill-effects.

 

[GrayEagle61]

Yup, I don't believe Tesla has said anything about their Michelin T0 or T1 tires not being repairable. Plenty of Model 3 owners get patches at Discount Tire with no ill-effects.

I think the lesson learned for me is to avoid the Dealer when it comes to tires. Next time I pick up a nail or screw Ill try Discount Tire and see how that goes. Unfortunately, I frequent a boat yard with gravel roads that tend to have plenty of screws dropped during repairs on boats. Once they drop something it's almost impossible to find it until you run it over. Most of my past flats have come from the boat yard. The ID.4 would become a very expensive car to own if I have to replace a tire every time I pick up a screw in the tread.